40 Years Ago, Konami Changed the Video Game Industry Forever
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Castlevania, the Konami platformer that Polygon credits with reshaping the video game industry. First released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System as Akumajou Dracula on 26 September 1986, the game launched a long-running franchise following the Belmont family's battles against Dracula, and its influence is still visible in modern titles.
The original game featured just six stages, but was notably atmospheric and difficult, with unforgiving jump physics and instant-death hazards such as pits and Medusa heads that sent players back to the start on failure. Its legacy extends widely: it helped inspire the "Souls-like" genre via Hidetaka Miyazaki's Dark Souls games, while its sequel Symphony of the Night helped originate the "Metroidvania" subgenre, influencing indie hits like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells and the Ori series. Former Konami director Koji Igarashi went on to crowdfund the spiritual successor Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and the franchise's ongoing influence includes recent crossovers with Vampire Survivors and Dead Cells, plus the upcoming Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, due in October on Switch, PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.
- Castlevania turns 40, having reshaped platformers and horror gaming since 1986.
- Its legacy spans Dark Souls, Metroidvania games and Bloodstained.
- New spin-off Castlevania: Belmont's Curse arrives in October.
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Konami's Castlevania first appeared in Japan in September 1986, under the title Akumajou Dracula, on the Famicom Disk System, a console add-on for Nintendo's Japanese hardware. It put players in control of members of the Belmont family as they fought their way through Dracula's castle, combining tight platform-jumping gameplay with a gothic horror setting that was unusual for its time.
The game is widely credited with shaping how later video games were designed, well beyond its own series. Its tough, punishing style is cited as an influence on modern "Souls-like" games such as Dark Souls, made by Hidetaka Miyazaki, while its 1997 sequel Symphony of the Night helped establish the "Metroidvania" genre, a style of exploration-based game now used by many independent titles including Hollow Knight and Dead Cells.
Forty years on, the franchise remains active, with former Konami director Koji Igarashi having crowdfunded a spiritual successor, recent crossovers with other games, and a new instalment, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, due for release in October on current consoles and PC.